The one-page version

From prompting
to delegating.

From a talk given in Bloemfontein · 25 August 2026

You watched an assistant book a squash court, vet a lead and file a slip. This page is how you start on Monday: pick one job, write it down properly, and run it beside yourself for a fortnight. Everything below came from the talk.

/01

Pick the job — three questions

It must be yes to all three. The classic mistake is choosing something too ambitious, watching it go badly, and deciding the whole idea is oversold.

Can you check it quickly?

You must be able to tell good from bad in a couple of minutes. If verifying takes as long as doing, you have not delegated anything — you have added a step and a stranger.

Is the worst case survivable?

If it goes wrong at three in the morning and nobody notices until lunchtime, what actually happens? If the answer involves a client or a regulator, pick something else first.

Is it worth more than it costs to set up?

Two ways to clear this: you do it often — most days, not twice a year — or it is so quick to set up that even an occasional job becomes worth handing over.

/02

Write the brief — for a stranger starting on Monday

The test of a good brief: could you hand this document to a capable new employee on their first morning and walk away? If yes, it will work. If no, the gap is in how the business explains itself — not in the technology.

01What the job is

One paragraph. What arrives, what should leave, and how you would know it went well.

Worked example — guesthouse booking enquiries Enquiries arrive by email and WhatsApp. Each needs a reply covering availability for the requested dates, the rate, and our two standard questions. A good reply goes out the same day and sounds like Marietjie wrote it.

02What good looks like

Two real examples from your own files: one you were happy with, one you sent back — and say why.

Worked example Attach last month's reply to the Venter family (warm, answered everything, got the booking) and the one to the tour operator that read like a form letter (rewritten twice).

03The rules

What must never happen. Never quote below this. Never commit to a date. Never mention the other client.

Worked example Never confirm a booking — only availability. Never discount without me. Never promise early check-in in writing.

04When to stop and ask

The situations where you want a question rather than an attempt. Be generous with these at the start.

Worked example Groups of eight or more. Anything mentioning an event or wedding. Any complaint. Anyone who has stayed before.

05Where it goes

The folder, the naming, the system, the person it goes to next.

Worked example Draft saved to the Enquiries folder, named by guest surname and date. I review and send before 16:00.

When it gets something wrong, do not fix the output. Fix this document. That single habit is the difference between a party trick and a system.

/03

Set the access — four rungs, one at a time

The useful question is never “can it do this?” It is “what is the worst thing that happens if it does this wrong at three in the morning?”

Look It reads your files, diary, inbox. Changes nothing. Start here — always.

Draft It writes into a drafts folder or a copy. Nothing goes out to anyone. Most working setups live here permanently.

Do, and undo It files, labels, schedules, codes an invoice ready for approval. Everything reversible. Earn this after weeks of watching, not days.

Do, for real Send the email. Approve the invoice. Move the money. Keep this human.

Delegate the work. Never delegate the accountability.

/04

The POPIA minimum — before client data goes anywhere

You stay the responsible party.

Handing personal information to a third party changes nothing about who answers for it.

Treat it as an operator relationship.

When a provider processes personal information on your behalf, POPIA expects a written contract and security commitments — the same as your payroll bureau. Check what the terms actually say, and where processing happens.

The data usually leaves the country.

Section 72 allows cross-border processing, on conditions. Know where your provider processes and what its terms commit to.

Risk controls — not compliance by themselves.

A paid business tier with training switched off reduces risk; it does not on its own make you compliant. No identity numbers, medical or financial detail in a free consumer account. Keep a record of what you use and why.

This is not legal advice. If you handle health, financial or children's data, speak to someone qualified before you start.

/05

The first month

Run it beside yourself before you run it instead of yourself.

Week 1Watch

Do the job the way you always do. Have it do the same job in parallel. Every time it is wrong, add a line to the brief instead of correcting the output.

Week 2Narrow

Keep the part it does well; take the rest back. Almost nobody's first attempt survives at full scope — that is the mechanism working, not failing.

Week 3Hand over the middle

It produces, you review. You keep the first step — choosing the material — and the last — approving what goes out.

Week 4Decide

Saving real time, honestly measured? Write it down properly and pick a second job. If not, drop it without embarrassment and try a different one.

Where to start

One assistant, one job, two weeks

Any of the major assistants on a paid business tier is the right first step — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok — at roughly R400–R500 a month. Switch off training on your data in the settings. Pick one; do not shop around for six weeks. The difference between them is far smaller than the difference between using one and not.

The bigger cost is your afternoon: writing the brief, watching the first runs, fixing the instructions. Budget one afternoon per workflow and you will be about right.

Rather have one set up and managed for you, living on your WhatsApp? That is what our hosted assistant does.

Keep going

Stuck on your first brief?

Questions from the talk, or a first workflow you are not sure how to write down — email me. I read them all.

Email Riaan → Start a conversation

Riaan van Straaten · StratCon (Pty) Ltd · Bloemfontein · +27 72 549 1945

From promptingto delegating.